


Why call it a SPECIAL ATTACK?

by Seiji_The_Ice_Drake



Series: Hopeful Determination Short Stories [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Big Brother Sans (Undertale), I have no idea what tags to use for this, I'm still new at these..., Papyrus (Undertale)-centric, Papyrus is struggling with his power level, Prequel, Undyne doesn't care her house got obliterated, some minor head-canons at play
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:35:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27928372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seiji_The_Ice_Drake/pseuds/Seiji_The_Ice_Drake
Summary: Papyrus ponders on why his Gaster Blasters are so difficult to tone down, since the damages they can cause can be really, REALLY destructive.
Relationships: Papyrus & Sans (Undertale), Papyrus & Undyne (Undertale)
Series: Hopeful Determination Short Stories [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2040501
Comments: 7
Kudos: 36





	Why call it a SPECIAL ATTACK?

_IS IT REALLY A SPECIAL ATTACK, IF IT’S A PART OF YOUR MAIN ARSENAL?_

Normally, Papyrus wouldn’t give a question like this a second thought, but this time it was different. He was asking himself this. Asking himself why he called his blasters a ‘special attack’. He didn’t need any fancy tricks to use them, like other special attacks. There was no real gimmick to it. Just dodge the line of fire. Though, these blasters are only used by him and Sans, so it was understandable why someone would mistake it as such. And while their REAL special attack incorporated the blasters, the blasters themselves were just an ordinary attack for them.

Maybe it’s the sheer power Papyrus’ blasters have. Since Sans magic reacts to the karma of others, his blasters never stay deadly. For someone with major bad karma, for someone with even just a little more than average LV, his blasters, his attacks can be a force to be reckoned with. Of course, he never had to rely on that too much. No one in the underground has that much LV, so if Sans were to attack them, the worst he could do was erase a name-tag or a pencil in their pocket. Not that anyone knows that. The few times he showed them off, people ran away, frightened. He may not be able to deal major damage, but he makes up for that in intimidation factor. When he’s not doing that, he’s his usual, lazy, prankster self.

Papyrus doesn’t have that luxury. He doesn’t rely on KR magic. All the damage done from his attacks are pure. They bruise. They hurt. They can kill, if he goes all out, like all attacks. Even when he pulls his punches, which he does for training, Undyne had made it known that he’s a force to be reckoned with, pulled punches and all. The thing is, it was easier to pull his punches when it came to his bone attacks. When he summons his Rapier, he can control it’s damage output via his swings and jabs. His blasters are harder to keep under check, however. Since he doesn’t rely on KR magic, the damage from the blasters is full power, and it scares him to no end. In a normal battle, depending on the HP of the opponent, they may just make it out alive. The thing is, anything else may not be so lucky. Bystanders could get caught in the blast zone, due to it’s incredible range, and get fatally wounded. Objects could get evaporated into dust. A house could get blown to bits. 

That last one was especially well known, since it just happened to Undyne’s house.

“💧︎☟︎✋︎❄︎! UNDYNE, I’M SO SORRY!!” Papyrus withdrew his spectral weapon and rushed over to the charred remains of what used to be Undyne’s home. “I-I STILL CAN’T FIGURE OUT HOW TO REDUCE IT’S POWER, S-SO-”

“Papyrus it’s fine!” Undyne tried to calm the skeleton down. “No one was hurt. That’s all that matters!”

“RIGHT...EVERYONE’S FINE…” Papyrus took deep breaths to calm himself down. It doesn’t feel right to be scared of his own power, yet here he was. “STILL…” He rubbed the back of his skull, taking in the sight. “I KIND OF...COSTED YOU YOUR HOUSE…”

Undyne shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the first time I lost it.”

Papyrus faced his trainer with great confusion. “COME AGAIN?”

“I burned it down one time trying to make spaghetti.” Undyne said casually, as if it was just a minor inconvenience. “Spent time at 02’s place while it was getting fixed up.”

Papyrus didn’t know what to say to that. “W-WELL...SINCE I CAUSED THIS ONE, YOU CAN STAY AT MY PLACE WHILE IT’S GETTING FIXED.” 

Undyne hummed in thought, considering the offer. “Yeah, alright! I’ve been kinda curious about it actually. It’s in Snowdin right?”

“YEP! IT’S THE CLOSEST TO THE ENTRANCE TO WATERFALL.” Papyrus explained.

“Cool. Let’s…” Undyne looked at the remains of her house. “Let’s stop here for today.”

“YES...I THINK THAT MIGHT BE BEST.”

“Just one quick question.”

“HMM?”

“That attack...You’ve never used it before now. I mean, I can see why,” She gestured to the burnt remains. “But, uh...Why not mention it? Just as a heads up?”

“AH, YES...WELL…” How should he describe this? “IT’S CALLED A ‘GASTER BLASTER’. IT’S, FOR AN OUTSIDE POINT OF VIEW, LIKE MY SPECIAL ATTACK. ME AND SANS CAN BOTH USE IT, BUT THANKS TO HIS USE OF KR MAGIC, HE DOESN’T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT SHOWING IT OFF.”

“But since you don’t have...KR magic, you’re more worried?”

Papyrus nodded. “WHAT IF I SHOW IT OFF, AND IT ACTIVATES? SOMEONE INNOCENT COULD GET HURT...OR WORSE…” Papyrus held his head low, before shaking it. “I JUST NEED TO FIND A WAY TO LIMIT IT’S POWER IS ALL!” Papyrus strained a smile. Undyne didn’t comment on it, and instead just shrugged.

“Well, let me know when you do. Because other than my house getting wrecked, IT WAS AWESOME!!!” Undyne suplexed her training dummy in excitement, accidentally throwing it into the dump nearby. After a few seconds, she realized what happened and her face went red. “Oops….”

* * *

Papyrus showed Undyne around his house, and made accommodations for the couch, since that was the only other available thing to sleep on. He fixed up one of those premade dinners that only needed to be heated up before being served. He wished he was better at cooking, but the last few attempts he tried to make his favorite oatmeal, never, at all, turned out good. Still, at least he got the healthy pre-packaged food, unlike Sans, who always seems to gravitate towards Grillby’s. Although he will admit, the milkshakes there were delicious. He set up plates for him and Undnye, fed Sans’ pet rock, ate his meal, and retreated to his room. 

Usually, he’d make it a point to check on Undernet if he got a new follower that wasn’t Sans, Undyne or that troll account, and then peruse the many selections of books he had after seeing that it was still the same. Maybe some Fluffy Bunny or one of the many comics he had. Maybe take a look through his book of Advance Puzzle Construction for new ideas. But after what had happened, he just laid on his bed, and stared up at the ceiling. 

_“WHY CAN’T I GET THOSE CURSED BLASTERS UNDER CONTROL?”_ He asked himself. _“SANS SAID IT WAS NATURAL AT FIRST, BUT WHEN HE SAID THAT, I WAS STILL CONSIDERED A BABYBONES...SO WHY…?”_ Papyrus sighed, and stared at the ceiling some more. Now that he was done with today’s training, he remembered that he needed to do some shopping. He got up from his bed, and pondered if he wanted to go through all the steps needed to walk to the store, or if he should just give in and use a shortcut. He sighed, and walked through the closet, deciding on using a shortcut.

_“LET’S SEE HERE...MILK, MORE OF THOSE DINNERS, KETCHUP AND CHIPS FOR SANS…”_ Papyrus read through the pre-made list, and quickly made a mental reminder of grabbing some honey, since that was gone too when he checked. He put the note away, grabbed a basket, and began walking through the store aisles, starting with the warm stuff and working down to the cold. He grabbed a few extra bottles of both honey and ketchup, and a couple of packages of his favorite oatmeal, before deciding that he had gotten everything on the list and checking out.

Back home, after Papyrus set everything away, he looked around to make sure he was alone, before opening one of the bottles of honey and drank it of it’s contents. After the stress of destroying Undyne’s house, it helped calm him down a bit. He threw away the empty bottle before checking the time. “SANS…” Papyrus groaned and once again headed outside his home, and marching over to Grillby’s. Inside, he spotted Sans asleep at the bar. He sighed and walked over, but instead of just picking his brother up and marching home, he sat down. “I’LL TAKE A MILKSHAKE, GRILLBY…” The flaming bar owner tilted his head in surprise, before nodding and heading into the back. Sans woke up after Grillby went through the door, no doubt stirred from his sleep by the sound of Papyrus’ voice.

“since you’re sitting down, i’m guessing training didn’t go so well.” Sans rubbed his eye sockets.

“FOR ME, IT DIDN’T BUT UNDYNE MIGHT SAY OTHERWISE.” 

“why’s that?”

“ONE OF MY CONFOUNDED BLASTERS RUINED HER HOUSE.” Papyrus answered quickly.

Sans blinked. “yeah, i’d say that’s pretty bad.”

“I JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY IT’S SO HARD TO CONTROL THEM...EVERY TIME I TRY, THEIR POWER LEVEL GETS EVEN MORE DANGEROUS…” Papyrus sighed, and collided his skull to the counter. “YOU SAID WE GOT THOSE ABILITIES FROM DAD, RIGHT?”

“mhm.”

“ARE YOU SURE HE DIDN’T LEAVE INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO USE THEM?”

“if he did, he sure as hell didn’t trust anyone to have them.” Sans replied. “besides, almost everything that’s left of him is back in that room, and i checked everything the first time you asked me about those. i didn’t see nothin’.”

“DRATS…”

Sans sighed. “eh, don’t sweat about it, paps. i’m sure you’ll get it someday.”

“HOW CAN YOU BE SURE? YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE DAMAGE COSTS IF YOU PRACTICED.”

“touché.”

The two chuckled at their banter. Grillby came back with Papyrus’ order, and he also gave Sans another order of fries. The two spent the rest of the day, making idle conversation. It was good to know that Sans had faith in Papyrus. That he believed Papyrus could solve his little conundrum. Still, Papyrus needed a way to practice with them, or at the very least, make sure he never had to fully rely on them.

**Author's Note:**

> This is set from after Chara's plan failed (duh) but before Flowey had awoken


End file.
